𝓘'𝓶 𝓨𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓒𝓪𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓪 {𝓗𝓮𝓻𝓶𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝓖𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓻}

26

The whistle echoed shrilly in the cold, still air; the stands erupted with cheers and applause; without looking to see what the other champions were doing, I casted the Bubble-Head Charm, and waded out into the lake.

It was so cold I felt the skin on my legs searing as though this were fire, not icy water. My sodden robes weighed me down as I walked in deeper; now the water was over my knees, and rapidly numbing feet were slipping over silt and flat, slimy stones.

I swam on for what felt like at least twenty minutes. I was passing over vast expanses of black mud now, which swirled murkily as I disturbed the water. Then, at long last, I heard a snatch of haunting mersong.

"An hour-long you'll have to look,

And to recover what we took..."

I swam faster and soon saw a large rock emerge out of the muddy water ahead. It had paintings of merpeople on it; they were carrying spears and chasing what looked like the giant squid. I swam on past the rock, following the mersong.

"...your time's half gone, so tarry not

Lest what you seek stays here to rot...."

A cluster of crude stone dwellings stained with algae loomed suddenly out of the gloom on all sides. Here and there at the dark windows, I saw faces...faces that bore no resemblance at all to the painting of the mermaid in the prefects' bathroom...

The merpeople had grayish skin and long, wild, dark green hair. Their eyes were yellow, as were their broken teeth, and they wore thick ropes of pebbles around their necks. They leered at me as I swam past; one or two of them emerged from their caves to watch me better, their powerful, silverfish tails beating the water, spears clutched in their hands.

I sped on, staring around, and soon the dwellings became more numerous; there were gardens of weed around some of them, and I even saw a pet grindylow tied to a stake outside one door. Merpeople were emerging on all sides now, watching me eagerly, I sped around a corner and a very strange sight met my eyes. Harry was there.

A whole crowd of merpeople was floating in front of the houses that lined what looked like a mer-version of a village square. A choir of merpeople was singing in the middle, calling the champions toward them, and behind them rose a crude sort of statue; a gigantic merperson hewn from a boulder. Four people were bound tightly to the tail of the stone merperson.

Ron was tied between Hermione and Hazel. There was also a girl who looked no older than eight, whose clouds of silvery hair made me feel sure that she was Fleur Delacour's sister. All four of them appeared to be in a very deep sleep. Their heads were lolling onto their shoulders, and fine streams of bubbles kept issuing from their mouths.

I sped toward the hostages, half expecting the merpeople to lower their spears and charge at me, but they did nothing. The ropes of weed tying the hostages to the statue were thick, slimy, and very strong.

I needed to save only one my date at the ball was Hazel so she's the one I need to save for Harry was Ron for Krum was Hermione and lastly for Fleur was her sister.

Fuck Krum better save her. I looked at Harry and gestured him my watch.

"Diffindo!" I cast once Hazel was free I swam up for air. Once we reach the shore Hazel hit me on the chest.

"You idiot you should have save Hermione!" Hazel shouted.

"She was not mine to save if Krum doesn't save her I will alright? Calm down please" I replied.

A few moments later another champion emerged it was Krum with Hermione.

"Here let me help you up," I said.